In the previous post, we shared five key criteria to determine whether a business is truly ready to enter a Revenue Sharing partnership: data transparency, long-term thinking, lean operations, data-driven decision-making, and an open, collaborative mindset.
But readiness alone isn’t enough. The harder question is: among the businesses that meet these criteria, which ones are actually worth betting on?
Here are three key signals we use at IMP to identify the low-hanging fruits, the brands most likely to succeed under this model.
1. The product is already selling
In other words, the brand has reached Product-Market Fit with real customers, real revenue, and real demand.
We’ve worked on more than a dozen projects at the pre-revenue stage, helping refine products, redesign packaging, restructure pricing, build channels, and more. The effort was massive, but the returns often weren’t. Why?
Because at that stage, our role wasn’t a growth partner, it was closer to being a co-founder. And when equity isn’t on the table, and clients don’t have much revenue to reinvest, it becomes a tough call for both sides.
Today, IMP only takes on one or two of those early-stage “bets” at a time, mostly for the challenge and for growth as a team. The rest of our resources go to brands that have already passed specific revenue milestones, depending on the category. With a solid foundation in place, marketing becomes a true growth lever, and only then can Revenue Sharing unlock its full potential.
2. Clear headroom to scale
Just because a product is selling doesn’t mean the brand can scale.
If the market is too niche, sales will plateau quickly, no matter how good the marketing is. On the other hand, if the market is large and growing, the right strategy can unlock exponential growth.
Of course, there are exceptions. Some founders are strong in R&D and have a clear ambition to scale. They might start in a niche, but they constantly test new ideas, launch new SKUs, and explore new market segments.
For founders like that, a Revenue Sharing partner becomes even more valuable, allowing them to focus on innovation, product quality, and expansion, while the partner handles growth execution.
3. Healthy profit margins
Revenue Sharing only works if there’s enough revenue to share. If margins are razor-thin, there’s no room for meaningful investment or for partners to get compensated fairly for their efforts.
Worse, brands with thin margins often lack the capital to invest in growth initiatives, which makes hitting larger revenue milestones even harder.
That’s why we’re selective. With limited resources and high standards, we don’t operate on volume. We don’t do half-efforts. Every client we work with has to be worth the time, trust, and teamwork this model demands.
Our 5+3 criteria aren’t just a checklist. They are how we identify breakout opportunities that can create serious growth. For the brand. And for us.
